Even in July, in a match up against Eastern Conference contenders, homecourt advantage served the Rockets well. But it took more than that for the Rockets to bring back veteran center Marcus Camby.

In a measure of how much the Rockets have changed, becoming a potential contender themselves, a year after the Rockets let Camby head out of town in part of their transformation to the NBA’s youngest team, he will return to his adopted hometown to rejoin a team so radically transformed that he once again should fit in with a team’s win-now approach.

Camby chose to sign with the Rockets as a free agent, a person with knowledge of the decision said, to play for team far more prepared to compete than the team he left as a free agent last summer. A longtime resident of Pearland, Camby also considered the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.